This piece shows the fallaciousness of attempting to compartmentalize, or even prioritize, rights that not only are equally important and equally vital to the maintenance of our republic, but cannot even truly exist separate from each other. Communicating such a basic (and yet profound) idea as clearly as Mullen does in this piece may do more than satisfactorily resolve an academic exercise - it may, if fully considered, bring together moralists (valuing the "right to life"), libertarians (emphasizing "liberty") and free-market economists (who prize "property" rights) into a cohesive whole. To paraphrase Ron Paul: Liberty unites.